The present invention relates to the general subject matter of building construction and remodeling, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for applying pressure adhesive tape, such as masking tape, to a flat surface to prepare it for painting and the like.
The problem of applying tape to a planar surface is an old one that has seen many proposed solutions within the building construction arts. As is well known in this industry, it is often necessary to apply pressure sensitive adhesive tape from a roll onto a surface such as a wall, trim, molding, ledge, or other surface. This might be done for any number of reasons, but among the most common would be to cover one surface in order to protect it when paint (sealant, etc.) is applied via spray or brush to an adjacent surface.
Of course, the simplest (and oldest / most direct) solution is simply to grasp the roll and manually feed the tape onto the recipient surface while letting the tape unroll. This approach is obviously inexpensive (in that it requires no expenditure on equipment) but is potentially inefficient and labor intensive, may not lay down the tape accurately, and is ill suited where the project requires the application of substantial amounts of tape over long runs.
As a general matter, the prior art contains many examples of devices that have been designed to improve this process by automatically feeding the tape from the roll onto the taped surface. In the construction arts, numerous hand-operated devices have been developed that are adapted for use with a supply roll of masking tape and that apply the tape to surfaces such as along the top edges of baseboards, along door frames, and the like that are disposed at about right angles to closely adjacent wall surfaces. Typically, these devices are intended to be manually grasped and moved along a surface, the tape being dispensed from a rotably mounted spool and guided onto the taped surface by one or more application rollers that keep the tape tensioned and apply pressure to it to affix it to the surface.
Examples of such prior art devices might be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,900,362, 5,269,871, 5,456,422, and many others. However, a problem which none of the prior art devices have addressed is how to maintain the taping apparatus at a predetermined distance from an adjacent surface while simultaneously protecting the adjacent surface from abrasion by the taping unit. Further the prior art has not yet satisfactorily solved the problem of severing the tape when the end of the run is reached. Prior art devices have typically implemented this function by requiring the dispenser operator to remove one hand or the other form the device in order to manually actuate a cutting blade. Alternatively, other inventors have provided a means for severing the tape that requires the operator to manipulate the entire dispenser to bring the tape into contact with a cutter, thereby potentially causing the device to come into contact with (and mar) the adjacent surface.
Of particular interest for purposes of the instant invention is U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,940, which names Antonioni as inventor. The device taught in this patent provides a hand-held tape dispenser that automatically dispenses tape when it is pushed or pulled along a planar surface. This tape dispenser includes spacing wheels at the upper periphery of its frame, the purpose of the spacing wheels being to prevent the roll of tape from contacting the adjacent surface while the device is being operated. However, this device does not address the general problem of how to prevent contact of the tape dispensing rollers with the adjacent surface during operation, nor does it allow the user to adjust the gap between the adjacent surface and the tape that is deposited by the invention taught therein. Finally, this device is not designed to maintain level and uniform pressure against the surface being masked.
Heretofore, as is well known in the construction and painting arts, there has been a need for an invention to address and solve the above-described problems. Accordingly, it should now be recognized, as was recognized by the present inventor, that there exists, and has existed for some time, a very real need for a device that would address and solve the above-described problems.
Before proceeding to a description of the present invention, however, it should be noted and remembered that the description of the invention which follows, together with the accompanying drawings, should not be construed as limiting the invention to the examples (or preferred embodiments) shown and described. This is so because those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains will be able to devise other forms of this invention within the ambit of the appended claims.
There is provided hereinafter a new apparatus for applying tape such as masking tape to surfaces for purposes of protecting those surfaces from exposure to subsequent treatment of adjacent surfaces by paint, varnish, stain, and the like.
In more particular, the device of the instant invention includes a rotably mounted spool of tape which is fed past a cutter blade, over a guide pin and around a first application roller. The cutter blade is positioned to be clear of the tape during normal operation. However, when the tape is tensioned as described hereinafter, it is drawn down into contact with the blade, thereby severing it.
The worker operates the instant invention by placing the adhesive side of the tape in contact with the surface to be taped. After the leading edge of the tape has adhered, forward motion of the instant device causes the tape to tensioned and unwound from the roll. Pulling or pushing the device forward causes the tape to be unwound from the spool, as the terminus is fixed to the taped surface and pulls against the spool.
As the worker reaches the end of the runxe2x80x94and preferably while the device is still moving forwardxe2x80x94a reel brake that is preferably located on the handle is activated. The brake retards or stops rotation of the tape spool. The retarding forcexe2x80x94in combination with continued forward motion of the devicexe2x80x94increases the tension in the tape and causes the take-off point of the tape to move downward, thereby drawing the tape path downward and onto the cutting blade. This allows the tape to be severed in one clean motion.
According to another preferred embodiment of the instant invention, there is provided a device substantially as described above, but wherein it further utilizes a tape-end retainer to hold the terminus of the adhesive tape in place. In more particular, the instant inventor has provided a means by which the terminus of the adhesive tape may be held after the tape has been threaded through the instant device. This embodiment is designed to hold the tape in place while the taping tool is maneuvered in preparation for the start of a taping run.
The foregoing has outlined in broad terms the more important features of the invention disclosed herein so that the detailed description that follows may be more clearly understood, and so that the contribution of the instant inventor to the art may be better appreciated. The instant invention is not to be limited in its application to the details of the construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. Rather, the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various other ways not specifically enumerated herein. Additionally, the disclosure that follows is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Further, it should be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting, unless the specification specifically so limits the invention. Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent upon examining the accompanying drawings and upon reading the following description of the preferred embodiments.